Other Nearby Places to Visit

Set in Bay Lake, Florida not far from Orlando, Florida, and opened in 1971, the Walt Disney World Resort (or simply Disney World) is Disney's flagship theme park. It covers 27,258 acres and features four fantastic theme parks - including Magic Kingdom and Epcot, two water parks, a camping resort, four golf courses, and a whopping 27 themed resort hotels.

Houston, Texas

My ratings by kids age

AWESOME

Tips for Families

Be sure to rent or take a stroller. Try to do one park every single day of your trip. If you have little ones try to get a nap in so that you can stay at the parks to watch the night time show. These shows are incredible and worth leaving the park for awhile during the afternoon to rest. Also take a cooler with sandwiches and snacks to save money in the park on food. Right when you get in the parks immediately get your fast passes. The shuttle was great to and from the parks. We stayed at Disney's Art of Animation Hotel and it was just great! We had to walk far since we stayed in the little mermaid room but it was not that bad. Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios were our favorite parks.

West Chester, Pennsylvania

My ratings by kids age

Driving to Disney was an adventure

Since there are lots of reviews on Disney World, FL already, I'll focus this review more on driving to Disney from the Northeast with the kids. This would be our 3rd trip to Disney in the past 4 years. For the first two, we flew down there and back. For this trip, since we planned to stay and travel around Florida for a few more days past our Disney adventure, we would need a car. We looked at several options, from taking a plane down there and renting a vehicle, taking the Amtrak auto train, to driving down there ourselves. Of the 3, driving was the most cost effective for a family of 4 and so that was what we decided on. This allowed us to pack the car with pretty much everything that we would need including beach gear since we planned on spending a few days at the beach while we were in Florida. We also had snacks and drinks in case the kids got hungry or thirsty on the way down there. Prior to the trip, I spent a lot of time talking to people who have actually driven from the Northeast to Florida as well as reading other people's opinions on-line. Each person had a different opinion so it was difficult to come up with a consensus. Some started late in the evening, some started in the early morning, some stayed overnight somewhere along the route, some just drove straight through. Those that started late in the evening and drove through the night have said that it took them a day or two to recover once they arrived in Orlando. Those that drove straight without stopping somewhere for the night split the driving duties between multiple drivers. Some people have suggested keeping a list of hotels along the route and just drive. When fatigue sets in, book the nearest hotel and stay for the night. My wife and I are planners so I'd rather book a hotel so I know I have a room for the night as well as a target destination to go to. So here's my take on our trip. Since I would be the only driver, we decided to split the driving over two days. Looking at the map, central North Carolina was a logical midway point between Philadelphia and Orlando. And since my wife and I are planners, we made hotel reservations in North Carolina for both the trip down and the trip back up. We also made a note of the cancellation policy of the hotels we booked at in case we needed to make last minute changes. For meals, we had originally planned to have sit-down meals along the way. It worked when we were around the DC area because we wanted to eat at this particular restaurant in Rockville for lunch. But for the rest of the trip, it was fast-food grab and go. For our trip down, we left the house around 9 AM just so that we would hit Rockville, MD around lunch time. Traffic on a Friday was pretty light and we made good time getting to Rockville. After lunch, that was when the trouble started. The beltway was pretty smooth, but there was construction on I-95 between DC and Fredericksburg, VA and this caused a huge traffic jam. So I got off I-95 and took Rt. 1. Apparently, so did everyone else since Rt. 1 was no better. I had to stop at a gas station and find an alternate route around that traffic. But once we got back on I-95, just past Fredericksburg, everything was smooth sailing again. It was 6 PM by the time we went hit Richmond, VA. So we stopped at a fast-food place to grab a quick bite before continuing because we still had a ways to go to our hotel in Fayetteville, NC. Since our Disney vacation was going to start the next day, we pretty much had no choice but to continue on to Fayetteville instead of just staying for the night somewhere around Richmond and taking three days to drive down instead of two. We got to the hotel late and after check-in, we just hit the sack. We got up rather early and had breakfast at the Cracker Barrel next door. Because of the time we went for breakfast, there wasn't much of a line and we were seated quickly. Breakfast took about an hour and after that, we were on our way by 9 AM. Interesting tidbit, the car's GPS in the minivan said we had 10 more hours to go while Google Maps said 8. I had planned our whole trip using Google Maps so it was a surprise to me when the GPS said 10 hours. I just chalked it up to the fact that the GPS map was 7 years old. The rest of the trip down to Orlando was pretty smooth. There was hardly any traffic through South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida and we hit the outskirts of Orlando in good time. By the time we got to Orlando, it was the afternoon rush hour so it was stop and go traffic. It took us an hour to finally get to Disney. But we got there just in time for dinner and for our Disney vacation to begin! The one thing that wasn't addressed by any of the people I spoke with or any of the reviews I read on line was gas. While finding gas stations along the way wasn't a problem, the price of gas was pretty much all over the place. So this is what I learned about gassing up. Stop at gas stations that advertise their prices on billboards along the highway. Do not use gas stations that do not advertise. I made this mistake and it cost me an additional 50 cents per gallon. I had seen several gas stations advertise a cheap price and they were more or less within 10 cents of each other. Since I still had a quarter tank left, I decided to continue on. About an hour later, when the needle was close to empty, I started looking for a gas station. I saw one of those highway signs saying that there were gas stations at the next exit, but none of them advertised a price. Imagine my surprise when I pulled up to the pump that the price was more than 50 cents higher. Since my tank was close to empty, I had no choice but to fill up. I could have just bought a couple of gallons and try to make it to another gas station, but since I was pressed for time and I didn't want to make an unnecessary stop, so I just bit the bullet. Truck stops like Pilot and Flying J tend to have the lowest prices. Franchises like Exxon, BP, and others, unless they advertise their prices on billboards along the highway, tend to have the highest prices. So lesson learned regarding gas stations. At Disney, we stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort. We had asked for a room with a river view and paid extra for that privilege. I guess my expectations were a little different from reality. The descriptions on-line didn't prepare me for the actual room location/view. First off, the building where our room was located was far from the parking lot. It was a good 5 minute meandering walk through the resort. Not that far unless you're carrying a 30 lb. cooler with no wheels. Second, I really wouldn't call it a river view. Between our room and the river was a good 50+ feet of ground. The riverbank was around 30 feet wide, then there was a 10 to 15 foot wide walking path. Then another 20 feet of garden before you reach our building. The entrance to the rooms face outward and the only window in our room was next to the door. Since we were on the first floor, for privacy reasons, the curtains to our window was closed the whole time we were there. Aside from this little misunderstanding, the rest of our Disney trip was great. Disney is Disney and we had a great time there. After Disney, we hit the beach for a few days before going back to Orlando to visit the other theme parks. After travelling around Florida, it was time to head home. We had breakfast at our hotel before we checked out. We left the Orlando area around 10 AM and headed north. We stopped for a quick lunch at a fast food place then continued our journey. As we approached North Carolina, traffic was pretty light and we decided that we could continue further north so we cancelled our original hotel reservation in Dunn, NC and rebooked at another hotel closer to the NC/VA border. This way, we would be that much closer to home. The next day, we had no problems with traffic until we hit I-95 north of Washington DC. That's when all the problems started. We got there around 3 PM and I-95 and I-295 were both pretty much stop and go traffic between DC and Baltimore. I eventually found my way onto Rt. 1 just north of Baltimore and took that all the way home. If I were to drive to Florida again in the future, this is what I would do differently. First, I would check with Google Maps to see if there are any areas where there are construction going on. I would then make a note of those spots and map a few alternate routes around them in case there is heavy traffic. Next, I would start very early in the morning, like 3 AM in order to get past DC before the morning rush hour. By leaving that early, we could probably reach Savannah, GA by dinner time. From there, Orlando would be that much closer and we could take our time the next day. The original plan was to take advantage of the pool at the hotel in North Carolina before continuing. But since we were pressed for time, that didn't happen. If we stayed in Savannah, we could have spent some time relaxing by the pool before going to Orlando. Finally, get plenty of rest prior to the trip. Hope these tips help the next person who wants to drive down. I had a fun time driving and I would again.

Tips for Families

Before the trip, check Google Maps to see if there are any areas where there are construction going on. Make a note of those spots and map a few alternate routes around them in case there is heavy traffic. Do not depend on your GPS to get you around these places. When gassing up, only gas up at truck stops like Pilot or Flying J. Or use gas stations that advertise their prices on billboards along the highway. Otherwise, you'll be paying more for gas. Get plenty of rest prior to the trip. Start early in the morning, like 3 AM, if possible.

Medford, New York

My ratings by kids age

Disney for Thanksgiving/Christmas

We decided to visit Mickey for Thanksgiving and see Walt Disney World all dressed up for the holidays, and it was absolutely spectacular. We loved all of the decor and festivities, and it was even more special because we saw how wonderful it was through a toddler's eyes this time. We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village and loved it. The splash zone by the pool was great for toddlers and my son also liked seeing the animals.

Tips for Families

If your child is a runner like mine is, a child harness may be the best money you've ever spent. $10 gave me reassurance that my kid wouldn't get lost or kidnapped and it gave him the freedom he needed. We sent a package of my toddler's stuff to the resort before we arrived so we could have all of his food, snacks and gear, but without having to pack it in our suitcases.

Suggestions for nearby family-friendly accommodations

And on-site Disney resort is great for kids. However, if you kid likes Cars, the Art of Animation Resort is worth a visit, even if you do not stay. They can run right up to the characters and you can get good pictures.

Suggestions for nearby family-friendly restaurants

All of the Disney restaurants are great for kids. Every restaurant will have a kid's menu for them to get whatever they eat.

San Jose, California

My ratings by kids age

Perks of being a College Programmer

I enjoyed my 4.5 month long "vacation" to the Walt Disney World as a College Programmer. Even though we get paid less than part- or full-timers, we had great perks, like visiting the Cast Member only trailer behind Magic Kingdom, go backstage behind all 4 Theme Parks, and free Admissions until the end of the Program. I worked at All-Star Movies as a Quick Service Food & Beverage host and liked making Guest's "Dreams Come True". Please write more "Four Keys" cards to me in Disneyland this upcoming August until January 2015. :)

Tips for Families

Do not come during the Holidays, especially during Thanksgivings, Christmas, and New Year's Eve. The wait for an E-ticket attraction can take up to 5 hours, like on New Year's Eve.